Cover Eason Chan (Photo: courtesy of Eason Chan)
Eason Chan (Photo: courtesy of Eason Chan)
1 / 1
The Hong Kong Canto-pop legend and the city’s mental health ambassador shares how his new album came about and how he finds comfort in music
In his three decades of entertainment career, Hong Kong’s king of Canto-pop Eason Chan, known for his flamboyant stage presence and versatile pop songs, has garnered some of the most prestigious music prizes in Asia, including the Best Mandarin Male Singer award at the Asia Pacific Golden Melody Awards in 2006 and the Most Popular Male Singer award at the Jade Solid Gold Awards in 2008.
The singer, now 49, is still going strong. He released his new album Chin Up! via local music label EAS Music on October 27, and has kickstarted the Fear and Dreams World Tour to mainland China, which is expected to run for a year.
In case you missed it: Grammy-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma on how to avoid cultural appropriation and why he’s unfazed by AI
Above “Chin Up!” cover design by Michael Lau (Photo: courtesy of Eason Chan and Michael Lau)
“Chin Up!” cover design by Michael Lau (Photo: courtesy of Eason Chan and Michael Lau)
1 / 1
The theme of Chin Up!, which is made up of eight tracks, centres around life’s challenges, be it in love or work. Compared to his previous albums, Chin Up! comes across as a collection of softer, melancholic yet resilient songs. For instance, The Code, which has been a chart-topper in local music radio and TV channels, tells the story of a fictional widower photographer who strives to live on and realises how life is like a play in which he plays pre-written part. In Don’t Mind Me, Chan talks about the immense pressure of fitting into social expectations and how this fear is can consume a person like cancer.
Chan says he got the idea for the album’s name from his school days in the UK. “I had a lot of friends growing up. Whenever we lost a rugby match or got bad exam results, my schoolmates would say to me, ‘No worries, keep your chin up. We’ll do better next time’,” he says.
Fast forward to 2020, when the pandemic hit, he and friends, which included Terence Lam, Li Ronghao, Chang Tsz Hin and Chow Yiu Fai—all established musicians and lyricists in Hong Kong and mainland China—worked on songs that “reflect what was happening to our family or society during that time”.
Above Eason Chan (right) at a talk about his song “Don’t Mind Me” (Photo: courtesy of Eason Chan)
Eason Chan (right) at a talk about his song “Don’t Mind Me” (Photo: courtesy of Eason Chan)
1 / 1
“Chin Up! is basically the answer to the aftermath of this [pandemic] experience in which we had doubts, anxiety or phobia around us, [and by extension] the general cycle of having ups and downs in life. I wanted to give people a pat on the back.” Chan recommends Hold on a Second, a dance number with quick beat, for listeners who want to take a break.
The singer has been appointed as the ambassador of the government’s mental health promotion and public education initiative Shall We Talk since 2020, for which he has written a Canto-pop song named after the initiative to spread the message of taking care of one’s mental health.
As a public figure himself, Chan is constantly under immense stress, and he turns to music for comfort. “Sometimes a song is the solution to a [stalemate] you cannot solve. It helps you relax … or unties some of the knots that you have. Sometimes you don’t have to be so harsh on yourself. If you face problems, step back a little, sleep on it and be patient. Most of the time, the answers will appear.”
With his new album, he hopes to bring to together his musician friends’ voices in cheering up the city. “Each of my friends has something to say to our audiences. Hopefully people who listen to our songs can get inspiration from our lives through listening to these melodies.”
Topics
Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
